Syria’s new prime minister said in an interview published Wednesday that the Islamist-led coalition that ousted President Bashar al-Assad would guarantee minority rights, also calling on millions of people fleeing the war to return home.
Assad fled Syria after a massive offensive by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and its allies, bringing a spectacular end to his tribe’s brutal five-decade rule.
Syrians across the country and around the world celebrated after enduring a repressive era during which anyone suspected of dissent could be jailed or killed.
Syria has plunged into the unknown since Assad’s overthrow, with its new rulers seeking to reassure religious minorities that they will not repress them.
He has also promised justice for victims of Assad’s brutal regime, with HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani vowing not to pardon officers involved in torturing detainees.
“We will not forgive those involved in torturing detainees,” said Jolani, now using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, “while urging countries to hand over any criminals who may have escaped.” So that they can be brought to justice”.
In the corridors of Damascus’ main hospitals, thousands of families gathered to try to find the bodies of loved ones captured years ago by authorities.
“Where are our children?” Desperate for closure after years of ordeal, the women began holding the walls and screaming.
– ‘Beginning to feel safe’ –
Sunni Muslim HTS is rooted in Syria’s al-Qaeda branch and is banned as a terrorist organization by many Western governments, although it has sought to tone down its rhetoric.
Mohammed al-Bashir, whom the rebels appointed as transitional head of government, told the Italian daily Corriere Della Sera, “Precisely because we are Islamic, we will guarantee the rights of all people and all sects in Syria “
Bashir, whose appointment was announced on Tuesday, has been tasked with leading the multi-ethnic, multi-confessional country until March 1.
After decades of Assad’s rule, the Syrian people now face the enormous challenge of charting a new path to recovery from nearly 14 years of war.
In Aleppo, Syria’s second city and the first major city captured by rebels in their offensive, 70-year-old shopkeeper Ramadan Dali said that “we are starting to feel safe.”
Juman Khilali, 40, said there is “still a lot of uncertainty” over even the most basic aspects of life, such as school for her 10-year-old child and rising prices.
“Everything is so expensive,” she said.
AFP footage showed the grave of the former leader’s father being set on fire in Assad’s home village of Qardaha, as cloaked rebel fighters and young people watched as it burned.
The ousted president’s Ba’ath Party announced it would suspend its work “in all its forms … until further notice” and turn over assets to authorities.
– ‘smooth transition’ –
More than 500,000 people have been killed in the Syrian war and half the population has been forced to flee their homes, with six million of them taking refuge abroad.
In his interview with Corriere Della Sera, Bashir called on Syrians abroad to return to their homeland.
He said, “Syria is now an independent country that has earned its pride and honor. Come back.”
The main international airport in Damascus, which has been closed since rebels took control of the capital, will reopen “in the next few days”, its director Anis Fallouh told AFP.
Bashir said Syria’s new rulers would be willing to work with anyone as long as they did not defend Assad.
The UN envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, urged an inclusive process, telling AFP that his “biggest concern is that the transition will create new contradictions in a way that could lead to new civil conflicts”.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world body “remains fully committed to supporting the smooth transition of power”.
Assad was supported by Russia, where he reportedly fled, as well as Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist group.
On Wednesday, the Kremlin said it wanted to see stability in Syria “soon”, as it criticized Israel over hundreds of airstrikes it carried out on its neighbor in the past few days.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday had targeted sites belonging to Assad’s forces in the coastal Latakia and Tartus provinces.
“Israeli warplanes have continued to destroy what remains of Syria’s military arsenal for the fourth consecutive day since the fall of the former regime,” the Britain-based monitor said.
– ‘Test him’ –
Some Western governments have also warned against military action by foreign powers.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Syria’s “neighbors such as the Turkish and Israeli governments, who are emphasizing their security interests, should not jeopardize regime change”.
France called on Israel to withdraw troops from the buffer zone separating the occupied Golan Heights from Syrian territory, and Spain urged respect for Syria’s “territorial integrity”.
Assad faced more than a decade of opposition and armed rebellion before his fall.
The rebels launched their offensive on November 27, the same day a ceasefire came into effect in the Israel-Hezbollah war, in which Israel inflicted heavy losses on Assad’s Lebanese ally.
Qatar, which supports Assad’s opponents, said on Wednesday it would reopen its embassy in Damascus “soon”.
Robert Ford, the last US ambassador to Syria, pointed optimistically to Jolani’s statements after the victory, including welcoming international monitoring of any chemical weapons discovered.
Ford, now a senior fellow at the US-based Middle East Institute, said, “I’m not saying trust Zolani… but I certainly want to test him on some of those things.”
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